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"When I saw the black smoke I knew it was pretty bad, because that's the tar and everything else, and siding and everything else started stripping," said neighbor Warren Wilson.

Firefighters were on the scene in a matter of minutes.

"There was a lot of fire presenting out of the front of the building and a lot of heavy smoke, a very visible column for quite a distance," said Burlington Fire Chief Seth Lasker.

Riverside Avenue was quickly closed to traffic while firefighters set up their trucks just north of North Winooksi Ave.

To put the fire out, they had to go in the front door of the burning building, carrying hoses up to the second floor apartment, and hit it with water. The chief says there are always challenges to this kind of attack.

"It's always the unknowns. What's burning in the apartment, if there's anybody in the apartment, not knowing the layout of the apartment. When you go into a fire it's black. You can't see through the smoke, so you're feeling your way through,' said Lasker.

He says the whole response was very fast; the fire was out in minutes, and nobody was injured.

The residents of the two-bedroom apartment were not home at the time, but their apartment was destroyed. Surrounding apartments may have minor damage, but people who live in the rest of the building were able to go back inside. They say the outcome could have been much worse.

"And these guys here so fast and got it under control. It saved all the other apartments. You know, these guys are good," said Wilson.

The cause was being investigated Monday afternoon. Crews said it does not look suspicious.